Moonlight Mystique

Sunlight spilled onto her face, uncomfortably bright. The figure on the bed frowned as if trapped in a nightmare—within the dream, a youth in red robes transformed his demonic energy into an icy Sword that pierced toward her chest.

"No! Don't kill me!" Bai Shuo screamed, jolting upright in panic. The blurred scenery before her gradually sharpened—yellow pearwood bed curtains, curling incense smoke—this was the place she had lived for over a decade, the Bai Manor, her secluded courtyard in Shu Luo Yuan. Only, the grand red bridal decorations from yesterday’s wedding had already been replaced with the usual plain furnishings.

"How did I get back here?" A sharp pain throbbed in Bai Shuo’s forehead as she massaged it, flashes of what happened before she lost consciousness replaying in her mind.

Mu Xiao Mountain… the Martial Virtue donkey… Long Yi Zhu… the bandits who died horribly… Chong Zhao lying unconscious… and the Yao Race youth’s cold, murderous gaze.

"A-Zhao!" Bai Shuo snapped back to reality, her face paling as she scrambled off the bed, only for her legs to give way, nearly sending her crashing to the floor.

"Young Miss!" Peach Blossom happened to enter the room just then and, seeing Bai Shuo awake, rushed forward to steady her before turning to shout, "Quick, call Madam! The Young Miss is awake!"

"Peach Blossom? What’s going on? Wasn’t I in Wei City? How am I home?" Bai Shuo felt like her head was about to explode. She had staked everything to leave home in search of the Dao, yet not only had she failed to find immortality and nearly died, but now she had woken up back where she started!

"Young… Young Miss…" Peach Blossom stammered, and Bai Shuo snapped impatiently, "Never mind, I’ll ask Father! This is downright haunted!"

She pushed Peach Blossom aside and made to storm out, but at the mention of "haunted," Peach Blossom—recalling the Crown Princess’s warning—blocked her desperately. "Young Miss! You can’t go!"

"Peach Blossom!"

"Young Miss! The Master said that if I let you leave this courtyard, every servant in Shu Luo Yuan will be dismissed!" Peach Blossom, who usually never defied Bai Shuo, was unyielding this time.

Bai Shuo halted. These were all people who had grown up with her—she couldn’t bear to bring trouble upon them. Still, anxiety gnawed at her. "Fine, I won’t go. But tell me, how did I get back? And what about A-Zhao? Is he safe?"

Peach Blossom’s expression shifted, hesitation creeping back in.

"Peach Blossom, out with it! If you don’t tell me, I’ll call for A-Xi!" Bai Shuo pressed.

"Young Miss, you and Young Master Chong were brought back by a donkey!" Peach Blossom finally relented.

Bai Shuo froze. "A donkey? Not a person?"

Peach Blossom shook her head. "That morning, just as the capital’s gates opened, you and Young Master A-Zhao were returned through the heavy fog by a donkey. It barged straight into our General’s Manor, pushing the gates open. The whole capital is talking about it. The Master has forbidden you from leaving the manor from now on."

Her voice grew quieter. Bai Shuo clutched her forehead, unable to resist asking, "What happened to the donkey?"

"The Master said it saved you, so it should be treated well. It’s being kept in the stable out back."

Bai Shuo mused that the donkey was rather clever, then suddenly realized something was off. "Father only said I can’t leave the manor?"

"Yes."

"No kneeling in the ancestral hall? No whipping?"

Peach Blossom shook her head.

"That’s strange. After causing such a huge mess, how come I don’t even have to kneel in repentance…?" Bai Shuo looked skeptical, a wave of dizziness hitting her.

Peach Blossom quickly helped her sit back on the bed. Before Bai Shuo could speak, a mournful cry rang out:

"Shuo’er!"Madam Bai rushed into the room supported by her maidservant and immediately embraced Bai Shuo. "My Shuo'er, you're finally awake!"

"Mother..." Bai Shuo feared nothing in the world except seeing Madam Bai shed tears. She quickly patted her mother's back to comfort her. "Mother, it's alright, it's alright. Look, I'm perfectly fine!"

"Perfectly fine?!" Madam Bai wiped her tears. "You little troublemaker! You've been unconscious for half a month! Your mother was worried sick!" As Madam Bai continued weeping, Bai Shuo froze and glanced at Taohua, only to find the maid avoiding her gaze. A suspicion arose in her heart.

"Ah, Mother, look how lively I am!" Bai Shuo hastily jumped up and bounced twice. "I could wrestle an ox to the ground now!"

"You!" Madam Bai sighed helplessly, pulling her youngest daughter back and tapping Bai Shuo's forehead lightly. "When will you ever grow up?"

"Mother, I'm sorry for causing trouble again." Bai Shuo lowered her head in genuine remorse. "I've brought shame upon you and Father... and A-Xi too."

Madam Bai's eyes reddened as she gathered Bai Shuo into her arms. "Your mother only wants you safe and sound. If you don't wish to marry, then you shan't."

"Really?!" Delight flashed in Bai Shuo's eyes. Devoted to cultivating the Dao, she had never intended to marry. "Did Chancellor Zhong agree?"

Madam Bai's expression faltered momentarily before she nodded absently. "With your unruly Heart-Nature, how could you be fit to be the chancellor's daughter-in-law? Your father personally pleaded your case, and Chancellor Zhong has consented."

Bai Shuo exhaled in relief, nuzzling against her mother. "Mother, you're the best."

Madam Bai looked down at her daughter, a fleeting sorrow passing through her eyes before she composed herself, saying no more.

Only after Bai Shuo had fallen into deep sleep did Madam Bai leave the secluded courtyard.

Outside, General Bai had been waiting for hours. In just these few days, streaks of white had appeared at his temples, aging him visibly.

Madam Bai's eyes welled up as she stumbled, steadied by General Bai's hand. "Husband."

The general merely sighed, unwilling to speak further as he supported his wife away.

Night fell, but Bai Shuo remained asleep. Taohua entered with a night lamp, placing it on the table before tucking in her mistress. Suddenly, a hand seized her wrist. Before she could gasp, she met Bai Shuo's pitch-black eyes.

"Young Miss?"

Bai Shuo pressed a finger to her lips, lowering her voice as she fixed Taohua with a serious gaze. "Taohua, what's really happened in our household?"

Taohua's hands trembled as she averted her eyes. "Young Miss, what could possibly have happened in our—"

"Taohua, we grew up together. You know I'm no fool. You might hide the truth today, but not forever. My betrothal was decreed by His Majesty—how could it be dissolved so easily?" Bai Shuo's voice turned hoarse, her eyes reddening. "Has Father or A-Xi been implicated because of me? Have they—?"

"It's not the master or the elder young miss, it's Young Master Zhong..." Taohua blurted out in distress before covering her mouth in horror, dropping to her knees.

"A-Zhao? What's happened to him?" Bai Shuo's face paled as she leapt barefoot from the bed, gripping Taohua's shoulders.

Seeing the desperation in Bai Shuo's eyes, Taohua finally broke down weeping. "Young Miss, the Zhong family has fallen."

Bai Shuo stood frozen as Taohua's tearful voice continued.

"The day after you and Young Master Zhong were brought back, His Majesty ordered the chancellor's residence raided!"

Bai Shuo drew a sharp, disbelieving breath. "How could this be? Uncle Zhong has always been upright and prudent! Why would His Majesty destroy his household?!""Raising a private army." Peach Blossom lowered her head and murmured a few words. "Your Majesty has sentenced the Chong family to execution by decapitation for the entire household. The sentence will be carried out tomorrow."

Bai Shuo's legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground. She suddenly scrambled up, not even bothering with her shoes, and pushed open the door to run outside.

"Young Miss!" Peach Blossom hurried after her, but Bai Shuo was already out of sight.

Bang! The door of the ancestral hall in the General's residence was flung open. Bai Shuo rushed in and indeed saw Bai Xun standing alone with his head bowed in the cold candlelight.

"Father!"

Bai Xun did not respond, remaining silent. Bai Shuo ran forward and knelt before him, her voice hoarse. "Uncle Chong wouldn't—"

"Ten thousand private soldiers, hidden in Wei City. The evidence is irrefutable; there's no overturning the verdict." Bai Xun sighed and patted her. "Shuo'er, these past days, I've done all I can. You must understand, raising a private army is the crime of treason."

Bai Shuo slumped to the ground, utterly lost. She had lived in luxury and indulgence for over a decade, and only now did she realize that not only was Immortal Ascension beyond her reach, but even many worldly matters were beyond her control.

"Even if Chancellor Chong is guilty, A-Zhao... A-Zhao knew nothing about it... Father, I beg you, save A-Zhao..."

"Guards!"

Hearing Chong Zhao's name, Bai Xun's brow furrowed slightly with reluctance, but he hardened his heart and turned to call out loudly.

"General." Guards immediately approached from outside the ancestral hall.

"Confine the Young Miss to the ancestral hall for three days. Without my order, she is not to leave!"

"Yes!"

"Father!"

Bai Xun turned and left. Bai Shuo rushed toward the door, but it slammed shut heavily, trapping her inside.

Just as Bai Shuo felt like a caged beast, a faint creak came from the corner, and a gust of wind blew in, making the candle flames flicker. Bai Shuo turned her head and saw a donkey hoof poke through the window before nimbly jumping inside.

It was still that Martial Virtue Donkey, but its body was noticeably smaller than before, now pocket-sized, allowing it to move freely even in the heavily guarded General's residence.

Bai Shuo silently watched the donkey, a faint wariness in her eyes. With the Chancellor's residence raided and Chong Zhao trapped between life and death, she seemed to have grown up overnight.

"Hey!" A playful voice rang out in the ancestral hall.

Bai Shuo startled, looking around.

"Stop looking, it's me!" The Martial Virtue Donkey tapped its hoof on the ground.

Bai Shuo eyed the donkey suspiciously as it circled around her.

"You were pretty bold back at Mu Xiao Mountain, weren't you? How come you're so wilted now that you're back in the capital? Not so tough at home, huh?" The donkey, having been tricked by Bai Shuo both openly and covertly at Mu Xiao Mountain, seized the chance to taunt her.

Bai Shuo pressed her lips together. "Why were you the one who brought me back? What about that..." She paused. "Lord of the Moonlight Hall? Didn't he want to kill me?"

The donkey's ears twitched, and it snorted lightly. "Oh, he wanted to, alright. But it was my loyalty and bravery that saved you and that fool at the risk of my own life."

Bai Shuo frowned, clearly unconvinced. The donkey snorted again, changing the subject. "You still have the mind to worry about the Lord of the Moonlight Hall? Don't you care about that little fool of yours anymore?"

"You can save him?" Bai Shuo's expression lit up with excitement, and she couldn't help stepping forward. "Right, you're a demon—you must be able to save him, right?""I can't save him." Wu De Donkey shook his head. "That flower demon has caused such a big stir in the mortal realm. Now the capital is filled with high-ranking immortals stationed everywhere to prevent the Yao Race from wreaking havoc in the imperial city. I'm injured—if I rescue a death row prisoner from the heavenly prison now, I'd be skinned alive by those immortals before even escaping the imperial walls!"

Bai Shuo's eyes dimmed with disappointment when Wu De Donkey spoke again.

"Though I can't help you save that fool, I can arrange for you to see him before his execution."

"Really?" Bai Shuo remained skeptical. "But you're injured. How will you get into the heavenly prison?"

Wu De Donkey snorted lightly, flicking his tail as a faint green glow flashed. Then he vanished into thin air before Bai Shuo's eyes.

Bai Shuo looked around, only to hear the clip-clop of hooves on the ground.

Another flash of light, and Wu De Donkey reappeared. "Just a simple concealment trick. Sit on my back, and I'll take you into the heavenly prison—but we'll only have fifteen minutes."

"What do you want from me, Long Er Donkey?" Bai Shuo stared calmly at Wu De Donkey, finally calling him by his true name.